Jim O'Connor/US PresswireBrian Rolston said he is surprised how quickly he's been able to return from Oct. 14 surgery for a sports hernia.

Brian Rolston may not be ready to play Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, but the veteran winger tried to give his teammates an immediate lift in his first day of practice since undergoing Oct. 14 surgery for a sports hernia.

"Hopefully I can come in and sprinkle a little positive energy in this locker room," Rolston said today. "That's what I hope to do."

The Devils said captain Jamie Langenbrunner was given a day off today. Goalie Martin Brodeur still was not well enough to practice with his bruised right elbow. And defenseman Colin White did not skate as he recovers from the flu.

But the Devils did get Rolston and defenseman Matt Corrente (non-displaced fracture of his left hand) back.

"I'm not going to tell you I'm playing on Wednesday," Rolston said cautiously. "I told them I'm ready to practice with the team. They said, 'Whenever you think you've had enough, get off.' I had enough. I don't want to push it to where I'm sore the next day.

"I'm hopeful that it's very near in the future. If not Wednesday, we'll see. I don't want to put any date on it. I'd like to shoot (for Wednesday) and if that doesn't happen, soon after."

Coach John MacLean wouldn't say Rolston would be available Wednesday.

"I don't know. We'll just have to go in progression with how he feels," MacLean said. "Right now I'm happy that he's back practicing."

Rolston said he felt good after the workout in the AmeriHealth Pavilion.

"I feel great. It's good to be back," he said. "It's obviously tough to watch your team, especially in the circumstances we've been in. Then you get another injury and another injury and it starts piling on top of you.

"Hopefully I come in and sprinkle a little positive energy in this locker room. That's what I hope to do, because we have such a great team in here regardless of our record. Especially when you go through a time like this you have to find the positive in it. It's tough to come to the rink when you're not doing well. You have to make it a little lighter so you can feel good about yourself and get back on the right track."

Corrente said he definitely could play Wednesday night if the Devils allow him.

"Definitely. For sure I want to play," Corrente said.

He is wearing only some elastic tape around his left hand, which was fractured in an Oct. 27 fight with San Jose's Ryane Clowe.

"It sounded way more serious in San Jose when they said it was broken," Corrente said.

It happened in the fight but he felt the pain soon after.

"It was right after when I was icing my hand during intermission," Corrente recalled. "I thought, 'Maybe this is a little more than a bruise.' "

MacLean said Corrente might play Wednesday. Colin White missed practice as he recovers from the flu.

"We may have to (use Corrente). We'll address that when we get closer to the time," MacLean said. "He looked good as far as his shot. "

Corrente said: "I have a pretty thick knob on my stick so I don't have to press down so hard."

Rolston started skating a week after the Oct. 14 surgery by Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia. He was expected to be out 4-6 weeks, but it is now just 3 1/2 weeks.

That's a quick recovery.

"It is. I saw Dr. Meyers in Philadelphia. He's one of the best guys around," Rolston said. "After the surgery he told me I had a significant tear there and there is no way I could've played with it. Which I knew as soon as I did it.

"He did a tremendous job on me. Your groin gets a little sore when you come back. It's just part of the program. As far as quick starts today, I felt pretty strong on it. Hopefully (the surgery) tightened it up so I'm a little faster."

"There was no question. It happened in the second period against Washington," he recalled. "I haven't had injuries like this my entire career. I just too a hard stride and I knew it right away. 'I'm done.'

"I tried to play with it but I knew something was significantly wrong because I've never felt anything like that in my career and obviously I've been around for a long time. I'm fortunate. Maybe I'm a fast healer and Dr. Meyers did a great job. I'm looking forward to getting back with this team."

Rolston said he did feel some discomfort in his groin area after a preseason game, but was not alarmed.

He expected his teammates to be down.

"The mood can't be (good). It's tough to be good with the circumstances we're in," Rolston said. "You have to put the past behind you and take it day by day. Every day is a new day and a new game.

"We have a great team in here. I still feel that way. We need to get positive and feel good about each other and help each other along. There are guys that have struggled offensively, as I have several times in my career. You have to pick guys up when that happens, because it happens to all of us."

Rolston said he cannot imagine the Devils missing the playoffs this season.

"No. Can I imagine it? No," he said. "Is it possible? Of course. There are a lot of good hockey teams in this league. We have to get back on track right away. There is no time to delay. You can't dig yourself a big enough hole where you're going to have to win every game to get back into it. But I believe we have the team to do it. We have the horses in here. We just have to pick each other up and help each other out."

Now it's just a matter of getting back into shape.

"It feels good. I want to get back in the right shape. I want to be producing when I come back," he said. "I want to help this team. That's what I'm shooting for, to get my body back into shape to where I can produce and help this team."

Rolston said he has njever felt rushed to come back.

"You do have to hold yourself back," he said. "Lou (Lamoriello) does a great job. Lou is never a guy who is going to say, 'Let's get you back.' He says, 'When you feel comfortable, you come back.' I want to come back. You see how the team is doing and you want to help. You have to be patient, though. You don't want to come back and set yourself back. I think I'm beyond that point."

He no longer has to see Dr. Myers.

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MacLean said Martin Brodeur came to the rink today and rode the bike but it was decided he shouldn't practice.

"Rest is good for Marty. It really wasn't important (to practice) because we have the time between games," the coach said.